Journal box and dust guard



Jan. 6, 1948. w. H. SALE 2,434,228

JOURNAL BOX AND DUST GUARD Filed Aug. 26, 1944 Patented Jan. 6, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOURNAL BOX AND DUST GUARD William H. Sale, Richmond, Va. Application August 26, 1944, Serial No. 551,392

This invention relates to a journal box and dust guard.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a journal box having a dust guard chamber or well closed at the top, bottom, and sides, and a dust guard consisting of a single piece of resilient flexible laminated or other suitable material split to enable it to be compressed or contracted diametrically to permit it to be inserted through the rear opening of the journal box into the dust guard chamber or well and capable, when released from compression after being inserted into the dust guard chamber or well, of automatically springing outwardly and returning to its normal initial condition and of forming an eiTective dust guard which will perform all of the functions of the dust guard now in use by railroads and inserted into the dust guard chamber or well through an opening in the top of the journal box.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dust guard of this character cut or split diagonally at the center of the top portion thereof to provide tapered or wedge-shaped overlapping terminals readily slidable on each other to enable the dust guard to be easily compressed and reduced in size for insertion through the opening in the back of the journal box and adapted to abut to form a relatively tight overlapping joint after the dust guard has been inserted into the dust guard well or chamber.

It is also an object of the invention to shape the top portion of the dust guard by cutting off the corners of the top portion of the dust guard to permit partial rotary movement of the dust guard in the journal box first in one direction and then in the opposite direction to facilitate the ready insertion of the dust guard through the rear opening of the journal box and into proper position within the dust guard chamber or well.

Another object of the invention is to provide for the said out or split single piece dust guard a rim of thin flexible metal or other suitable material extending around the edges of the dust guard from one terminal to the other and adapted to permit the compression or contraction and expansion of the dust guard and not interfer with the ready insertion of the same into the dust guard chamber or well of the journal box and capable, in event of the breakage of the dust guard, of holding the pieces thereof in proper connected position so that the dust guard will have substantially the same high efficiency of the single piece dust guard now in use on railroads.

Another object of the invention is to provide 3 Claims. (01. 286-6) 2 for journal boxes having a completely closed dust guard chamber or well a dust guard which will be entirely jointless and solid throughout except at the center of the top thereof so that there will be no liability of leakage or seepage of oil through joints, as might be the case were joints submerged in the lubricant contained in the journal box.

With these and other objects in View. the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement, and combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view of a journal box provided with a dust guard constructed in accordance with the present invention, the dust guard being shown in elevation.

Fig. 2 is a central vertical sectional view taken through Fig. 1 and showing a portion of the car axle.

Fig. 3 is a prospective view of a dust guard compressed or contracted into the condition'in which it is inserted in the journal box through the rear opening thereof.

In the accompanying drawings, in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, I designates a journal box of the standard type having a dust guard chamber or well "2 in the form of a recess extending entirely around the journal box and completely closed at the top, bottom, and sides, and having the inner and outer walls 3 and 4 thereof formed integral with the journal box. The journal box is provided with the usual central circular opening 5 for the reception of a car axle B.

The dust guard chamber which receives a single or one piece unitary dust guard I has its top portion 8 extended above the top 9 of the journal box to provide an additional space I 0 at the top of the dust guard chamber in excess of the space usually provided in journal boxes of the standard type for a dust guard. This additional space provided by the extension of the dust guard chamber facilitates the insertion of the dust guard into the dust guard chamber when inserting the single piece dust guard into the journal box through the rear opening thereof.

The dust guard I which is designed to be constructed of a single piece ofstifi, flexible, resilient material may be made of laminated paper or fiber of the same character now employed in the construction of dust guards in use on railroads but the single piece dust guard may be constructed of any other suitable material whether laminated or not.

The dust guard, which is provided with the usual circular opening I l for the reception of the shoulder l2 of the journal l3 of a car axl I4, is cut centrally of its top portion at anlacute angle to provide overlapping'tapered or wedge-shaped terminal portions l5 which, when the dust guard is inserted in proper position in the dust guard chamber or well, are secured together in tight abutting relation by a suitable fastening device such as a rivet IE but any other suitablefastening means may of course be employed for maintaining the provide a tight joint.

While the one piece unitary dust guard may be split at-any other point to permit contraction of the dust guard to enable it to be introduced into the journal box through the rear opening thereof and to cause automatic expansion or springing back of the compressed or contracted portions of the dust guard into their original or initial positions when the compressing force is removed after insertion of the dust guard into the dust guard chamber of the journal box, it is preferable and advantageous to form the cut and overlap the parts at the top of the dust guard as the joint formed by the-tapered overlapping portions will be located above the lubricant contained in the journal box and the dust guard will present a solid one piece structure throughout its entire submerged portions and will completely eliminate from such submerged portions any joint through which the lubricant contained within the dust guard chamber may seep or leak and the dust guard of the present invention will be in this respect as effective as the one piece dust guard now in use in journal boxes on railroads.

The dust guard is compressed or contracted by the hands into substantially the form or condition illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings and one portion at one side of the split is first introduced into the journal box through the rear opening and the dust guard is partially rotated for further introducing the dust guard into the dust guard chamber and there is suificient space to permit the dust guard by this operation to be introduced into the dust guard chamber. After the portion at the other side of the cut of the dust guard is inserted in the dust guard chamber, the dust guard is partially rotated in the opposite direction to arrange it in the upright position illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. When the dust guard .is inserted in the dust guard chamber, it is relieved of the compressing force exerted by the hands. The contracted or compressed portions will, through the inherent resiliency of the material of which the dust guard is constructed, automatically spring back into their initial or normal positions to'each other.

After the upper portions of the dust guard have returned to their'normal positions, they are secured in tight abutting relation by a rivet or any other suitable fastening means.

The top portion of the dust guard is shaped by cutting off the corners at ll to present inclined edges to facilitate the partial rotary movement of the dust guard first in one direction and then in theother in introducing the dust guard tapered overlapping terminals of the top portion of the dust guard in tight abutment to into the dust guard chamber of the journal box.

The corners of the top portion of the dust guard may be cut off straight or slightly curved and the width of the dust guard at the top is thereby reduced and the top is shaped into an approximate arcuate form so that the top portion of the dust guard will not interfere with the aforesaid partial rotary movement of the dust guard in the journal box.

The dust guard is reinforced throughout its top, bottom, and side edges by a thin flexible strip ill of metal or any other suitable material which may be secured to the dust guard in any suitable manner and which will not interfere with the resilient action of the compressible and expansible portions of the dust guard. The thin band or binding of metal or other material not only reinforces the dust guard but, in event of break-- age of the same, it will maintain the parts connected together so that the dust guard will be maintained in proper position within the journal box irrespective of any breakage and will function as a dust guard. By this construction, the dust guard, while having the cut and overlap to permit its insertion into a journal box through the rear opening thereof, will possess substantially the same durability and resistance to wear and breakage as the one piece dust guard now in use on railroads.

Instead of providing a metal strip for reinforcing the dust guard, any other suitable reinforcing means may be employed for both strengthening the dust guard, and, in event of breakage of the dust guard, for connecting the broken parts thereof and retaining the same in proper position with relation to one another.

What is claimed is:

1. A unitary car aXle journal box consisting of a substantially single integral structure having a rear axle receiving opening and provided with a dust guard chamber in the form of a continuous recess extending entirely around the interior of the journal box at the rear opening thereof and completely closed at the top, bottom and sides by continuous unbroken walls, and a onepiece dust guard of stiff flexible resilient material having the characteristics of stiff fiber and provided with an opening to receive the journal of a car axle and cut across the center line at the top at an angle forming a lap joint with the ends tapering in thickness, said dust guard having straight parallel vertical side edges arranged in close proximity to the side walls of the journal box, the upper edges of the dust guard being substantially horizontal and the corners of the dust guard at the top being cut off to facilitate rotation thereof within the journal box, said dust guard being introduced into the journal box at the rear opening thereof by first compressing and contracting the dust guard diametrically and then introducing one of its ends into the journal box through the rear opening thereof and then partially rotating the dust guard until its other end is in position to snap into the journal box, the

releasing of the compressive force on the dust guard causin the ends thereof to spring back automatically through their resiliency within the journal box into their relative initial positions, and means for connecting the cut portions of the dust guard for securing the same in tight abutment.

2. For use in a unitary car axle journal box consisting of a substantially single integral structure having a rear axle receiving opening and provided with a dust guard chamber in the form of a continuous recess extending entirely around the interior of the journal box at the rear opening-thereof and completely closed at the top, bottom and sides by continuous unbroken walls, a one-piece dust guard of stifl flexible resilient material having the characteristics of stifi fiber and provided with an opening to receive the journal of a car axle and cut across the center line at the top at an angle forming a lap joint with the ends tapering in thickness, said dust guard having straight parallel .vertical side edges arranged ln close proximity to the side walls of the journal box, the upper edges of the dust guard being substantially horizontal and the corners of the dust guard at the top being cut oil to facilitate rotation thereof within the journal box, said dust guard being introduced into the journal box at the rear opening thereof by first compressing and contracting the dust guard diametrically and then introducing one of its ends into the journal box through the rear opening thereof and then partially rotating the dust guard until its other end is in position to snap into the journal box, the releasing of the compressive force on the dust guard causing the ends thereof to spring back automatically through their resiliency within the journal box into their relative initial positions.

3. For use in a unitary car axle journal box consisting of a substantially single integral structure having a rear axle receiving opening and provided with a dust guard chamber in the form of a continuous recess extending entirely around the interior of the journal box at the rear open-- ing thereof and completely closed at the top, bottom and sides by continuous unbroken walls, a one-piece dust guard of stifi flexible resilient material having the characteristics of stiff fiber and provided with an opening to receive the journal of a car axle and out across the center line at the top at an angle forming a lap joint with the ends tapering in thickness, said dust guard having straight parallel vertical side edges arranged in close proximity to the side walls of the journal box, the upper edges of the dust guard being substantially horizontal, said dust guard being introduced into the journal box at the rear opening thereof by first compressing and contracting the dust guard diametrically and then introducing one of its ends into the journal box through the rear opening thereof and then partially rotating the dust guard until its other end is in position to snap into the journal box, the releasing of the compressive force on the dust guard causing the ends thereof to spring back automatically through their resiliency within the journal box into their relative initial positions.

WILLIAM H. SALE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 208,947 Alexander Oct. 15, 1878 421,505 Losewitz Feb. 18, 1890 657,979 Crone Sept. 18, 1900 1,232,305 Heft July 3, 1917 493,176 McLaren Mar. 7, 1893 1,350,429 Trowbridge Aug, 24, 1920 2,213,414 Simpson Sept. 3, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 262,656 Great Britain 1926 

